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Human Initiative Forum 2024: Humanitarian challenges & collective kindness for resilience
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elebrating 25 years of addressing humanitarian issues, Human Initiative recognizes that humanitarian challenges will always be a part of human civilization. As a global humanitarian organization, Human Initiative encourages a spirit of collaboration among all humanitarian actors to tackle these ongoing issues together. Reflecting on a quarter-century journey, Human Initiative reaffirms its commitment to global humanitarian collaboration through the "Initiative Forum," held on Oct. 29, 2024, at the Birawa Room in the Bidakara Hotel, Jakarta. With "Collective Kindness" as the central message, Human Initiative brings together humanitarian actors from various sectors to promote strong collaboration in addressing increasingly complex global challenges.
The Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 reports that around 300 million people require assistance because of conflicts, the climate crisis and global economic impact. In Indonesia, the National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas) and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) reported in 2022 that major challenges remain, with approximately 4 million children lacking access to quality education. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) also recorded that 25.22 million people live below the poverty line. Through the forum, Human Initiative invites all humanitarian actors to address these issues with a collaborative spirit.
In his opening remarks, Tomy Hendrajati, President of Human Initiative, stated that the forum, themed "Collective Kindness," is not only a celebration of 25 years of Human Initiative’s humanitarian movement, but also an invitation to build optimism for the future through cross-sector collaboration. He also shared that over the past 25 years, Human Initiative has learned that sustainable dignity must continue to be built, despite limited resources and uncertain external conditions.
"Empowering communities is closely linked to strengthening the humanitarian and development movement ecosystem, which must continue to be pursued. This includes not only providing social humanitarian assistance, but also supporting the enforcement of International Humanitarian Law. Additionally, strengthening organizational capacity, including governance, encourages local leadership. The involvement of all parties is key to achieving a better humanitarian and development ecosystem that upholds human dignity," Tomy said.
The Initiative Forum offers Human Initiative an opportunity to present "Collective Kindness," which aims to strengthen the humanitarian ecosystem through cross-sector collaboration. This initiative is expected to optimize public engagement in responding to current and future humanitarian challenges. With over 500 participants attending both online and in person, the Initiative Forum brings together stakeholders from various sectors, including government, nongovernmental organizations, academia and communities.
"We at Human Initiative are very grateful and honored to collaborate and gain trust from many parties, including government institutions, the private sector, NGOs, communities, media, academia, volunteers and generous individuals. Our collaboration is concrete proof that together, we can create significant change," Tomy concluded.
As an ideas forum, the Initiative Forum offers in-depth discussions through four main sessions: Initiative Exposure, Initiative Insight, Initiative Award and Initiative Connect. These sessions provide space for sharing, appreciation and partnership to enhance the impact of humanitarian collaboration. During this event, Human Initiative also launched the Local Champion Award and Humanity Award to recognize significant collaborative work in addressing humanitarian issues. The forum was attended by global humanitarian figures including H.E. Vincent Raymond Ochilet from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Coordinating Social Empowerment Minister Muhaimin Iskandar.
